![]() The company's name is an anagram of "book". You'll occasionally catch her on BBC Radio commenting on the latest tech news stories, and always find her in the living room, recalibrating terrible TV settings at parties.The Kobo eReader is an e-reader produced by Toronto-based Kobo Inc (a subsidiary of Rakuten). She has a particular interest in audio and TV, which means she has spent a lot of time watching movies and listening to music and passing it off as work. In her time as a journalist she has covered the highs and lows across the breadth of consumer tech, and tested everything from smartphones and stereo speakers to robot lawnmowers and electric cars. Fourteen years and staff roles at Stuff, MSN and What Hi-Fi? later, plus a 5-year stint as a freelancer contributing to the likes of Wired, Metro, Evening Standard and BBC Science Focus, she is back as Pocket-lint's reviews editor, testing the latest tech and heading up the site's review programme. Verity has been a technology journalist for 15 years, starting her career working for the rather questionably named "Boys Toys" magazine, before its editor moved to an up-and-coming website called Pocket-lint, and brought her on board as staff writer. ![]() If you know a title you want to look for you can use the main Kobo search and filter by Kobo Plus but it would be great to have a greater selection of browsing and discovery options within Kobo Plus itself. The only issue is that the discovery of Kobo Plus titles feels a little limited - you have five discovery rails in the Kobo Plus section, including "New and Hot" in both reading and audio, a selection of popular Crime, Mystery and Thrillers and a pretty vague "Page Turners". And do remember, you are borrowing these - if you stop paying for Kobo Plus you will lose access to your titles. Similarly to Kindle Unlimited, you aren't going to get the big-name reads in here - most of the books you can read as part of your subscription could be bought for 99p or £1.99 - however, you aren't limited on how many you can borrow like you are with Amazon's offering. For that, you don't get audiobook access but you do get free rein on up to two million books - so a fair few more. ![]() ![]() This goes head-to-head with Amazon Kindle Unlimited, which sits in the middle of these two pricing options at a cost of £9.49/$9.99 a month. You get a choice to either listen or read for that, or you can pay £11.99/$9.99 to get unlimited access to all the Kobo Plus content. This gives you access to over 1.3 million ebooks and 100,000 audiobooks from as little as £8.99/$7.99 a month. Kobo does offer a subscription service service, if you wish, called Kobo Plus - currently available in the UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal. There's not the same choice here that you'll find on a service like Audible though, but it's great to have the option to buy individual audiobooks without needing a subscription. That's not going to be a problem for the majority of people, and the Bluetooth connection works well. Only audiobooks from Kobo can be listened to on the Elipsa 2E though, and there is Bluetooth built in for playback - there's no physical headphones jack. You can even sideload EPUB titles if you have an existing ebook collection - something that remains a no go on Kindle. What the Kobo continues to have over Kindle, though, is its extensive file support, with over 15 formats supported. Still, we'd recommend setting the budget aside to buy it, or the stylus could find itself going walkabouts fairly quickly. ![]() It would be nice if it doubled as a stand when folded back, but it doesn't - it just sits flush. It will also automatically put the Elipsa 2E into a sleep mode when closed, and then wake it up again when the cover is peeled back. It snaps firmly to the side of the Elipsa 2E and folds across the screen to keep it protected when not in use. It's available in black only and is made from the same recycled plastic as the Elipsa itself - and 95 per cent of it too. That Sleep Cover came bundled with the last Elipsa, but it is now an added extra, available for $69.99/£69.99/€69.99. This section is also now magnetic too, so you can store the stylus here while you read, or alternatively in the designated slot in the hinge of the protective Sleep Cover. Like the original Elipsa, and its Amazon competition, there is a thicker edge on one side of the display, so you can hold it without blocking the screen - and this can sit on either side to suit both right- and left-handed people. ![]()
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